Meet the Team
Operations Team:
Dr Carika Weldon – Founder & CEO
Dr Carika Weldon, PhD, MRSB, FIBMS (Founder, CEO, and Director of Research) is a Bermudian biochemist and the first sole black female founder of a genomics company in the world. She received her Bachelor of Science honours degree in Medical Biochemistry from the University of Leicester, then went on to complete her Doctor of Philosophy in Biochemistry at the same university. In 2015, Dr Weldon became the youngest full-time Lecturer in Biomedical and Medical Sciences at De Montfort University in the UK. In 2016, Dr Weldon founded the Bermuda Principles Foundation (BPF), to make a worthwhile contribution to Bermudian society in both the education and science tourism sectors. In November 2018, Dr Weldon returned to full-time research, working as a Research Scientist within the Oxford Genomics Centre at the University of Oxford. In April 2020, called by the Bermuda Government, Dr Weldon returned to Bermuda to expand testing capacity for COVID-19 and was appointed as Science Advisor to the Premier for COVID-19 and Laboratory Director of the government’s Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory, which she created. Dr Weldon was granted a Queen’s Certificate & Badge of Honour in November 2020. Currently, Dr Weldon is an adjunct lecturer at the Bermuda College, teaching Molecular Medicine, along with her current role at CariGenetics. She is focused on ensuring the research culture the pandemic fostered amongst healthcare professionals and the general public is harnessed for a healthier future for Bermuda.
Tarik Bean-Darrell – Project Manager
Tarik Bean has always possessed a keen interest in science. He attended Saint Mary’s University in Halifax, Nova Scotia and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Science, majoring in Biology. Tarik also possesses a passion for education and spent several years employed as a teacher with the Bermuda Public School System, along with a number of private educational institutions. In 2021, during the pandemic, Tarik was asked to take on the monumental task of Logistics and Testing Coordinator for the Bermuda Molecular Diagnostic and Research laboratory, the Government of Bermuda’s pandemic response laboratory. In this role, he worked with a number of Government ministries to implement sound testing strategies to keep many Government entities open. He spearheaded the school testing strategy to effectively have schools reopened in May 2021 as well as producing the strategy to have all staff and students return to school in the fall of 2021 and going forward. As the Project Manager for CariGenetics, Tarik hopes the research and hard work he and his colleagues undertake can make a lasting impact in the world.
Tahdae Tucker – Laboratory Manager
Tahdae’ Tucker is CariGenetics’ Laboratory Manager. Upon graduating from Mount Saint Agnes Academy, she attended Kingston College where she completed a science foundation year before completing a Bachelor’s Degree in Biomedical Science. While in the UK, she worked for the National Health Service (NHS) at the Royal Surrey County Hospital laboratory in Guildford. This afforded her the opportunity to gain experience in haematology, biochemistry, coagulation, blood transfusion and peptide hormones. In July 2020, she joined the Government of Bermuda’s pandemic response laboratory, The Molecular Diagnostic and Research Laboratory. Tahdae’ started as a Laboratory Supervisor and was subsequently promoted to the position of Quality Assurance Officer responsible for maintaining the laboratory results system, writing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and ensuring the laboratory was following all the quality assurance/quality control protocols and policies. Tahdae’ has recently returned to Bermuda to undertake her role with CariGenetics and plans to further her studies and complete a PhD in cancer research. She is a proud mother of one son, Josiah Scott-Furtado.
Christian Stevens – Stakeholder Relations Manager
Christian Stevens is a Bermudian business professional who is a graduate of Saint LeoUniversity, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, with a minor in Economics. He began his career in the hospitality industry at Rosewood Tucker’s Point Hotel as a pool attendant and bellman. From there, Christian moved to New York City. There he became a Life Insurance Agent with New York Life Insurance Company. While employed there, Christian enhanced his knowledge in the finance and insurance industries and gained a wealth of invaluable business experience. Upon returning home to Bermuda, he was eager to utilise his expertise and began doing contract work for various insurance and reinsurance companies on the island. Christian is currently CariGenetics’ Stakeholder Relations Manager.
Devray Denwiddie – Branding & Marketing Manager
Devray is an experienced web developer and Branding Specialist. After attaining his Bachelor’s Degree in Software Engineering at The New England Institute of Technology, he returned home and worked for the Bermuda Government as part of the team responsible for upgrading all web-based platforms government-wide. This team was also responsible for creating and implementing many standards and policies surrounding IT, Branding, and social media that still exist today. Devray is passionate about the success of small business owners and entrepreneurs and has dedicated much of his professional career helping them reach their full potential through branding and web-based initiatives. He is currently CariGenetics’ Branding & Marketing Manager and is excited to find a home with a company that will change the world.
Board of Directors:
Dr Carika Weldon (as above)
Erin Vickers
Erin Vickers is the Legal Director at Centessa Pharmaceuticals where she advises on a diverse range of corporate and intellectual property focused commercial transactions in the life sciences sector. Prior to this, she worked for Cooley LLP as an Associate in the Life Sciences sector where she advised companies at all stages of development and has experience advising on intellectual property licensing transactions, research and development collaborations, manufacturing and supply arrangements and clinical trial agreements.
Shelby Weldon
Shelby Weldon is currently the President and Deputy Chairman of HLB Bermuda Advisory and Accounting Ltd. Prior to joining HLB in June 2020, Shelby served as Senior Vice President of Marsh Management Services (Bermuda)Ltd., providing insurance management services to a portfolio of captive and commercial insurance companies. Prior to joining Marsh, Shelby spent 15 years as a member of the Executive Team of Bermuda Monetary Authority, Bermuda’s integrated financial services regulator. He served in various capacities including Director of Compliance and Director of Licensing and Authorisations.
Professor Miten Jain
Professor Miten Jain, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Bioengineering and Physics and leads the Genome Technology Laboratory at Northeastern University. He did his Ph.D. at UC Santa Cruz in the nanopore group. Professor Jain research interests include: i) developing experimental and computational methods for genomics; ii) long-read Nanopore sequencing of DNA, RNA, and proteins; and iii) resolving nucleotide and protein modifications. His group’s long-term interests include combining sequence and structure information from DNA, RNA, and proteins, to better understand genome organisation and function for clinical applications.
Professor Zodwa Dlamini
Professor Zodwa Dlamini, PhD, is the Scientific Director of the SAMRC/UP Precision Prevention & Novel Drug Targets for HIV-Associated Cancers CariGenetics Confidential Information Memorandum CONFIDENTIAL – Do Not Distribute Without Permission 37 (PPNDTHAC) Extramural Unit and is the Inaugural Scientific Director of the Pan African Cancer Research Institute (PACRI) at the University of Pretoria. She is a Professor in a highly specialised area of molecular oncology/translational oncogenomics and has been recognised internationally, evidenced by; invitations to chair and give keynote lectures at international conferences; an appointment as a visiting Professor by the University of Bristol, UK. Professor Dlamini also represents the National Department of Health (DoH) in the Department of Science and Technology (DST) Scientific Advisory Board on Preclinical Drug Development Platform. She also serves on the DST/SAMRC National Genomics and Precision Medicine Think Tank.
Scientific Advisory Board:
- Professor Malcolm Brock, Oncologist, Johns Hopkins University, USA
- Professor Diana Baralle, Clinical Geneticist, Southampton University, UK
- Professor James Batchelor, Clinical Informatician, Southampton University, UK
- Professor Philip Beer, Physician Scientist, Step Pharma, France
- Professor Erich Jarvis, Neuroscientist, Rockefeller University, USA
- Professor Chris Mason, Geneticist, Weill Cornell Medicine, USA
Business Development Advisory Board:
- Kevin Richards, Managing Director, Bermuda Asset Management
- David Norris OBE, Business Advisor, Perceptio Ltd., BVI
- Dr Irad Potter, Former Chief Medical Officer, BVI